My View On The Obama Administration’s Attack On Religious Liberty

I had been trying to write a post about the Obama’s administration’s attack on religious liberty regarding the Catholic Church for a few days, but every time I wrote one it ended up being too long, too detailed, and frankly, too angry. I don’t think I have been as shocked at any decision from this administration as this one, and that is saying a lot.

I’m sure you have heard about new regulations under Obama’s overhaul of our health system that compels religious organizations to include morning-after pills and other contraceptives in employee health insurance coverage. This is a big problem for Catholic organizations because it goes against the teachings of our Church. Failing to comply will: result in fines being levied by the federal government that many Catholic organizations claim would cost them millions of dollars a year.

At least 153 US bishops have spoken out against these regulations, including a letter sent to all Catholic Churches from a leading Catholic Bishop claiming an attack on religious liberty. The letter basically says that the Church “cannot–we will not–comply with this: unjust law,” as it violates the Catholic conscience. It also said that if these regulations are imposed the Church will be : faced with a difficult decision to either comply and violate its faith or drop coverage for employees.

The Obama administration made a very big mistake here. They figured that the only people really upset about this would be devout Catholics like myself who adhere to the teachings of the Church on: contraception: and the like. There aren’t many of us in relation to the entire Church, sad to say, but the Obama administration doesn’t understand Catholics. Many Catholics may disagree with the Church on many things, but they NEVER believe that the government should be telling the Catholic Church that it must turn away from it’s teachings on order of the government. It’s sort of : like “you can’t call my sister names, only I can” sort of thing. : After fuming for days over this, and never getting it right about what I wanted to say, I found Ed Morrisey did a better job than I could:

The Catholic Church’s hospitals get money from the government, but only for caring for the otherwise indigent.: If that’s the basis of the intervention, then Catholic hospitals will likely close their doors.: The bishops will not allow for abortions and sterilizations that violate the very mission on which those hospitals are based – the protection and promotion of sacred human life.: That will only make matters worse for the poor, and also for the government that would have to fill the very large gap left by the closing of hundreds of hospitals and clinics.

If one disagrees with the Catholic Church’s doctrine on the sanctity of human life, then they don’t need to work for their institutions, as Scarborough says later in the segment.: Otherwise, they can buy their own abortions, contraception, and sterilization.: Catholics who see these as deep sins should not be forced to underwrite them through their own church (it’s bad enough that we’re doing so through the government), and especially not based on an elitist: diktat from a government that is supposed to stay out of church business.

I don’t think people who don’t deal with the poor on a daily basis have any idea of the enormous amount of services and care that are provided by the Church. The government has long: channeled: money through the: Church: because it was the best way to help the poor, with systems and caring already in place. Trust me when I say, it is the Church that does the favor for the government, not the other way around. There is simply no way the government can provide the services of organizations like Catholic Charities with the: efficiency and, most important, love, that the Catholic Church provides.

The media is glossing over this, but mark my words, this may be the nail in the coffin of Obama’s re-election. Don’t mess with Catholics. If we can peel away a small percentage of Catholics from the Democrats, we win. I hope all Catholics do see this administration for what it is, with no regard for religious liberty (not to mention sanctity of life), and choose to vote against Obama this election.